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CHAPTER ONE
A VISIT WITH GHOSTS
“I there witnessed physical manifestations which demonstrated to me beyond all doubt that they were not produced by mortal hands.”—Judge J. W. Edmonds, 1853
The room feels spooky as soon as you walk in.
Heavy maroon curtains cover the windows. The carpet muffles your footsteps. You catch a whiff of incense.
Your host invites you to sit with her at a round mahogany table along with eight other visitors. She tells everyone in the circle to join hands.
The lights are turned off. You can see nothing. A bell jingles, first on one side of the room, then the other, and finally near your head.
You hear knocks on the wooden table. Your host announces that the spirits have arrived. “Does anyone have a question for them?” she says.
The man to your left asks whether his friend is happy in the spirit world.
Two knocks.
“The spirits reply ‘yes,’” the host explains.
Several people in the circle inquire about a dead relative, their money troubles, or their love life. Each time, the ghosts answer with knocks.
Tiny lights flicker above the table and dart around the room. A tambourine rattles in the blackness.
Suddenly, the table rises, tilts to the side, then thuds back to the floor. The next moment, you feel your chair rise, too. For a few seconds, you’re floating.
A glistening white hand appears a few feet away. You feel your hair being pulled. Something clammy touches your cheek. A chill runs down your spine.
Above the table, a shining horn appears in the darkness. It turns toward the woman across from you, and an eerie voice comes from the trumpet. “Your daughter is with you,” it murmurs. The woman sobs.
Then you notice a shimmery white form in a corner of the room. It’s the size and shape of a man, and he has a face. When the woman next to you screams, the figure instantly vanishes.
Have you just seen a ghost? Have you heard a spirit talk?
Nearly 175 years ago, scientists, magicians, journalists, and detectives began investigating whether ghosts existed. Many people condemned them for asking the question. Others tried to keep the truth hidden. That didn’t stop the spirit sleuths.
Their search for answers required quick wits, ingenuity, and pluck. What they discovered was shocking and surprising. But was it supernatural?
This is their story.
